The Truth About Zahra Kazemi

An Iranian-Canadian journalist named Zahra Kazemi was beaten to death by the Islamic Republic’s State agents on July 10th 2003 for taking pictures outside the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. The regime denied requests from her family and the Canadian government to examine the body. They buried her hastily with no autopsy and claimed that she had fallen in her prison cell and died of injuries to her head.

New developments have come to surface regarding Zahra Kazemi’s death with the arrival of Dr. Shahram Azam to Canada. Dr. Azam was on shift at the emergency room the night Ms. Kazemi was admitted to the hospital and he examined her. According to him it did not take long to realize that Ms. Kazemi’s condition was a result of systematic torture, rather than a “falling accident” which is the official position of the Islamic Republic on this issue. Mr. Azam has stated in numerous press interviews that as a doctor he has the duty to let the world know the truth about what happened to Ms. Kazemi and could not remain silent. He feared a similar faith as Ms. Kazemi’s if he was to speak out in Iran and that is why he left Iran along with his family.

After the medical examination Dr. Azam concluded that Ms. Kazemi was suffering from the following injuries: her entire body carried strange marks of violence, bruised from forehead to ear, skull fracture, two broken fingers, injured and missing finger nails, broken nose, and evidence of flogging to the legs and brutal torture. The Islamic Republic wanted the world to believe that Ms. Kazemi had died as a result of falling down, but Dr. Azam’s disclosure of evidence proves that the real cause of her death was brutal rape and torture.

Dr. Azam has disclosed this information to the press, public and the Canadian Government. Now the question remains regarding what the Canadian Government will do with this information? Unfortunately the Liberal Canadian Government has a terrible record of protecting or even supporting Islamic Republic’s human rights record. In fact it was last summer on the first anniversary of Ms. Kazemi’s death that Mr. Jean Chrétien, Canada’s Prime Minister at the time of Ms. Kazemis death, traveled to Iran as a business advisor to Calgary’s Patrol Gas in order to close a deal with Iran’s National Oil Company. This trip was kept very quiet, perhaps because of the scandal it could have created for the Liberal Government.

Also in another case it was reported by the CBC radio that at the same time while the Liberal Government was publicly condemning the death of Ms. Kazemi in 2003, they allowed an official of the Islamic Republic to enter Canada. Emails obtained by CBC under Access to Information Act revealed that custom officials were trying to keep this visit as quiet as possible. According to CBC one email actually stated, “the visit should be kept quiet.” (CBC News, April 1, 2005). One may wonder why at such a sensitive time the Liberal Government was helping this totalitarian regime and letting its officials to come to Canada and keeping everything a secret from the public?

As a Canadian Iranian I am extremely disappointed at the reaction of the Liberal Government towards Ms. Kazemi’s death. Not only did the government not try hard enough to bring her body to Canada or to demand a proper examination and autopsy of her body, but it could be argued that Mr. Chrétien personally rewarded the Islamic Republic by going on a business trip on the first anniversary of Ms. Kazemi’s death. The Canadian Government has the obligation to protect the life of its citizens and to punish those who try to hurt its citizens. Unfortunately the Liberal Government has taken no hard stance as of yet.

The European countries have been no better in dealing with the Islamic Republic. They have insisted on continuing their so called “human rights talks” with the Islamic regime at a time when thousands of political prisoners remain in prison and are tortured and executed systematically.

With the evidence, which Dr. Azam has provided, it is very clear that Islamic Republic agents tortured Ms. Kazemi. Unfortunately her case is by no means an isolated incident and systematic torture and murder is used routinely by the regime to crush any pro-democracy movement. The only question remaining is how long it will take for the Canadian Government as well as the governments of European countries to realize that a regime as brutal as the Islamic Republic will not be tamed by simple diplomatic approach and human rights talks? How long until these states who are supposedly founded on the principles of freedom and democracy start to support the Iranian People in their quest for a free, secular and democratic Iran?

There has been some talk by Western Countries regarding the support of the Iranian people, but unfortunately these countries have taken no definitive action so far.

As a Canadian Iranian I call on the Liberal Government of Canada to fulfill its duties towards it citizens by taking serious and firm action against the Islamic Republic and to show that murder of its citizens will not be tolerated. I also call upon all nations of the world to support the human rights and pro-democracy movement in Iran by boycotting the Islamic Republic and standing along side the freedom loving people of Iran."

Setare Kaviyan is a Human Rights Research Analyst for the Marzeporgohar Party, Iranians for a secular republic.

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